Serious tourist complaint re Customs duties-my 66 year old Canadian husband was detained at Cancun airport and his passport withheld as a ransom until he paid for an extra carton of cigarettes in his luggage.
He tried to explain that our son was with him but was waiting for his oversize luggage. The officers forced him to a room where our son could not find him. They took his passport and the carton of cigarettes and said he must pay 27,000 pesos for one carton of cigarettes valued at $58 CDN. My husband had a a series of strokes in May 2024 and suffers high blood pressure.
He tried to remain calm and again explain but they refused to acknowledge. He told them he did not have enough to pay that amount and it seemed very much money for the extra duty owed. They refused to give him his passport or the cigarettes. They would not listen to him asking them to show him the official tariff page.
After 15 minutes, another officer came in and said he can offer him a deal of only 12,700 pesos to get his passport back with the cigarettes. My husband was very panicked, had fear of being jailed and by this time and agreed to pay. We have the receipt he was given and it is attached. I have verified on the government of Mexico pages that the amount owing was maximum 3,000 pesos and even this is in dispute as our son was available to make claim of the cigarette carton.
My sister and her husband were also brought in and searched and they were approved to leave. My sister speaks Spanish and tried to go to the area where they isolated my husband but they prohibited her entry.
She attempted to explain to an officer that our son was coming but they refused to hear her. She also went to a different security official who also refused to assist.
How do we go about dealing with this clear scam at an international airport which is a known issue according to our research tonight. There have been multiple complaints of this nature on Mexico tourist forums and no one seems to be addressing this situation!
This is not a first occasion of this type of embezzlement or shakedown…but we see in your recent news report that there was supposedly some “training” implemented to take a better direction.
I can tell you your training was not effective and my husband was not the only person detained last evening under these threatening circumstances that reflect so poorly on the beautiful Mexico.
We have been regular winter tourists from Canada staying up to 3 months every year for the past 9 years. We have invested thousands of dollars in places to live, things to do, groceries, activities, restaurants and shops. This sort of thing doesn’t cause us to feel valued or welcome….right at the very start of arrival!
Kathy MacDonald, Brockville, Ontario
